Trending

Amazon to swap the web for bricks and mortar with first high-street shop?

Amazon briefly ditches the online lifestyle for a shot at human interaction across the pond

07 February 2012/18:53GMT

Web whisperings suggest online retail behemoth Amazon may be on the verge of following in eBay's footsteps by cutting the ribbon outside its very own retail shop specialising in Kindle goods, books, exclusives and other electronic high-end products.

Rather than setting up shop for good, the shop is being opened as a way of gauging just how profitable a chain of retail stores a la Apple would be. Although, according to the US books blog Good E-reader, Amazon's shop will occupy a smaller, more "boutique-type" environment, as opposed to Apple's insanely super-sized playgrounds.

Speculation also suggests people will be allowed to sample ebooks using demo Kindles and free Wi-Fi.

If the online hype is to be believed, Amazon's first high-street shop could be a mere few months away from opening its flagship doors in Seattle, where its headquarters are based.

This is all just speculation, of course. So with no official nod from the king of retail itself, we've coated the hearsay with a light sprinkling of salt. But considering eBay had a stab at it at Christmas, it's not a far-fetched idea for Amazon to go down the physical store path.

It looks like we're just going to have to wait and see if an Amazon shop pops up anytime soon.